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The top three pressing challenges Jersey City faces are affordable housing, public safety, and equitable economic development. Rising rents and property taxes are displacing long-time residents, leaving families, seniors, and young people struggling to stay in the city. Gun violence, youth crime, and quality-of-life issues demand both immediate action and long-term prevention. And while Jersey City has grown, many neighborhoods have not shared equally in that progress, with minority- and women-owned businesses lacking support and job opportunities unevenly distributed across communities.
I bring a unique combination of lived experience, professional service, and community leadership. As a police officer with six years of service, I’ve been on the front lines of public safety, building trust and responding to community needs. As a single mother, I understand the challenges families face in balancing work, childcare, and housing costs. I bring empathy and determination to ensure that no family is left behind. As a community organizer and entrepreneur, I’ve created programs for children on and off the spectrum, hosted playdates, and supported local businesses—showing my belief that lasting solutions come from working with the community, not just for them.
I believe public safety requires a balanced approach that combines enforcement and prevention by empowering residents through Neighborhood Safety Councils, investing in after-school programs, mentorship, and youth jobs to address root causes of crime, strengthening community policing with transparency and accountability, and using innovative tools like improved lighting, targeted cameras, and crisis-intervention training to keep neighborhoods safe.
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The most pressing challenges are affordability, public safety, and education, each worsened by fiscal mismanagement. Property taxes rose 42% in two years, pushing the average bill to over $10,500, while rents nearly doubled, making Jersey City the second most expensive rental market in America and forcing families, seniors, and working neighbors out of their homes. Crime is increasing, leaving neighborhoods fearful. In our schools, nearly two-thirds of students cannot read at grade level, despite spending $36,000 per pupil, far above the state average. Jersey City needs change: new leadership committed to stable taxes, safe streets, and schools that prepare every child for opportunity.
My experience spans local, state, and community leadership. As Mayor of Woodbridge, I stabilized property taxes, redeveloped underused land, and attracted new industries to grow jobs and expand the tax base. As Governor, I advanced education reform, created NJ STARS scholarships, and safeguarded New Jersey’s drinking water and the Highlands. As Executive Director of a statewide reentry program serving court-involved individuals, those in recovery, and veterans, I built workforce initiatives providing training and opportunity. With a Harvard M.Ed. and classroom experience, I understand that education and employment are the foundation of opportunity. My record shows I can deliver results.
My plan for public safety is built on transparency, timeliness, and trust, with community policing as our foundation. We will modernize the JCPD website with real-time crime data, publish updated CompStat reports, and overhaul 911 for faster response. Patrols will use license plate readers, and a strengthened motorcycle unit will improve traffic enforcement. Mobile Police Stations, more School Resource Officers, and stronger neighborhood watches will deepen trust. Vision Zero will guide safety with stricter laws, speed cameras, a dedicated Traffic Bureau, and safer crosswalks. Mental health teams will partner with police, and expanded reentry services will help those returning from incarceration build new lives, not return to crime.
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Over the last few decades, luxury developers have transformed Jersey City from an industrial, working-class community into one of the country’s most expensive and most unequal. I am running for Mayor to stand up to powerful real estate developers and self-serving machine insiders. If elected mayor, I will:
Build more affordable housing so longtime residents aren’t pushed out of their neighborhoods, with with rents lower than $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000 a month, and workforce housing for teachers and first responders
Demand developers pay their fair share for better public schools, more transit options, and new open spaces
Cracking down on insider politics that costs taxpayers money and hurts city services
As a father, cancer survivor, educator, and Councilmember, I’ve led the fight to keep longtime residents in their homes, protect small businesses, and strengthen democracy. I represent a new generation of politics in Jersey City - one that is beholden to the people, not the powerful.
After upsetting the political machine to win my Council seat in 2017, I’ve delivered real change—partnering with grassroots organizers to protect Liberty State Park from billionaire-backed development, passing a right-to-counsel bill paid for by developers to keep long-time residents in their homes, and partnering with statewide advocates to unrig our primary ballot alongside grassroots advocates (AKA abolishing the line).
As Mayor, I want to bring reform to the JCPD and reimagine the way we approach first response. We need to hire more cops for walking patrols as well as cops specifically assigned to the traffic beat. Furthermore, we need accountability from the JCPD. I also worked with community leaders, the Washington family, and the Attorney General’s office to bring the Arrive Together alternative first response program to Jersey City. Our goal needs to be to have officers engaged in the community and accountable for misconduct; that means both a Civilian Complaint Review Board and increased hiring and retention efforts to ensure our cops are from the community. It also means short-term investments in local nonprofits already doing anti-violence work.
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